Download What made the person represented in this statue

This statue shows Raherka, an
“inspector of the scribes” of
Egypt, with his wife, Mersankh,
around 2350 B.C.E.
The couple wears their hair in
similar traditional styles and is
dressed modestly in tunics.
Mersankh stands slightly behind
her husband on his left and holds
onto his left arm with her left
hand. The hair of the figures is
colored black, and the skin and
clothing shows remnants of ochre
and yellow colors.
What made the person
represented in this statue
significant in his time?
First Civilizations:
Cities, States, and the
Development of Unequal Societies
Mr. Prindiville
Core and foundational civilizations developed in a variety of
geographical and environmental settings
where agriculture flourished.
Mesopotamia
Shang
Olmecs
Chavín/
Norte Chico
Egypt
Mohenjo-Daro
and Harappa
Six major civilizations
(plus many smaller ones)
• Scattered around the world
• Develop after 3500 BCE
• Civilization is a global phenomenon
• States were powerful new systems of rule
that mobilized surplus labor and
resources over large areas.
• Early states were often led by a ruler
whose source of power was believed to be
divine or had divine support and/or who
was supported by the military.
As states grew and competed
for land and resources, the
more favorably situated —
including the Hittites, who
had access to iron — had
greater access to resources,
produced more surplus food,
and experienced growing
populations.
These states were able to
undertake territorial
expansion and conquer
surrounding states.
• Pastoralists were often the developers and
disseminators of new weapons and modes of
transportation that transformed warfare in
agrarian civilizations.
Hittite Weapons
The Chariots of Ur
Culture played a
significant role in unifying
states through laws,
language, literature,
religion, myths, and
monumental art.
Early civilizations developed
monumental architecture and urban planning.
Huantar de Chavin
Left: drainage
Above: corridor
Early civilizations developed
monumental architecture and urban planning.
• A large public well and public bathing platforms were found in Harappa.
• They had a sophisticated system of plumbing and sewage
Early civilizations developed
monumental architecture and urban planning.
Harrapa Gateway, Artists Conception -Grid layout
Early civilizations developed
monumental architecture and urban planning.
Ziggurat
Elites, both political and religious,
promoted arts and artisanship.
Gold Chavin
The sandeel monolithic has a length of 5
meters and represents a Chavín deity
Systems of record keeping arose independently
in all early civilizations and were later spread about.
• Cuneiform =
Sumerian
system of
writing
• The symbols
represented
complex ideas
Systems of record keeping arose independently in all early
civilizations and were later spread about.
• Scribes were
trained to read &
write documents
and stories
• Epic of Gilgamesh
= oldest story in
the world
States developed legal codes, including the Code of
Hammurabi, that reflected existing hierarchies and facilitated
the rule of governments over people.
• Babylon (Mesopotamia) was Ruled by
Hammurabi
• Strict Code of Laws = Hammurabi’s
greatest achievement
• Rules and consequences that addressed
daily life
• Law code covered entire region of
Mesopotamia
• “Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” type of
laws
• Government assumed the responsibility of
protecting its citizens
• People now had laws to protect their rights
& didn’t need to resort to violence